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INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Two Plead Guilty $1.6
Million Riverside
Casino Heist
page 3
Navajo Artist Creates
Skateboards featuring
Female Warrior Images
page 7
Half Price Books
4th Annual Wild
Rice Festival
page 6
Concerns to Proposed
Values Governing Tribal
Members' Cross-Border
Travel under WHTI
page 4
Sentenced by the
Welfare System -
Awan's Story, A Must
Read
page 4
Leech Lake's former Assistant Police Chief Alvin
John Wind sentencing postponed
By Diane White
WALKER, MN- The sentencing
hearing set for today for the
former Leech Lake Tribal Police's
Assistant Police Chief, Alvin John
Wind was postponed to September
10, 2007. Postponements in
this case have not been an
unusual occurrence. Wind
will be sentenced on Monday,
September 10 at 9:00 a.m. in
front of Judge John Smith.
Wind was orignally sentenced
in June 2006 by Judge John
Roue of Crookston. He is now
retired and Judge John Smith is
presiding in this matter.
Based upon the recommendation
to the court from Minnesota
Department of Corrections,
Probation Officer Mary
Hoaglund, Wind is facing up
to one year in the County jail
with all, but 60 days stayed; a
$1,000 fine with all but $300
stayed; pay a $700 polygraph
fee; must successfully complete
sexual offender programming,
including aftercare and
polygraph testing; have no use of
alcohol or controlled substances;
must submit to random testing;
be subject to random searches
of person, home and vehicles;
have no use of sexually explicit
material; no use of internet
without agent approval; have no
contact with victim(s) or victim's
family without agent approval;
register as a sexual offender;
submit to DNA testing; and
follow Department of Correction
directives.
Wind defied the Department
of Corrections and the original
sentencing of June 2006 by
not reporting an incident to
his Probation Officer where
he was observed by local law
enforcement to be intoxicated
at a party where a stabbing took
place and from being intoxicated
at the party, both are direct
violations of his probation.
Hoaglund cites Wind continues
to make poor choices in his life
and these poor choices prevent
him from following the original
sentencing agreement.
Wind faces the loss of
professional police licensure,
thus losing the ability to practice
law enforcement in Minnesota.
In a recent Minnesota Court
of Appeals ruling, Indians who
reside on the reservation can
be committed to treatment
by Minnesota courts. The
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
has authority over sex offender
registration in this matter.
Redby man
killed by Red
Lake police
officer
According to the FBI, a 19-year
old Redby man was shot and
killed Saturday, August 18, by
a Red Lake police officer. Early
reports withheld the identity of
both individuals. The shooting
victim was identified later as
Anthony W Hegstrom.
The Red Lake Department of
Public Safety placed the police
officer (William White) on
administrative leave pending
investigation.
An autopsy and forensic
reports are being prepared.
Paul McCabe, spokesman for
the FBI, reported the Red Lake
Police Department was notified
by several callers that gun shots
were being fired in Redby around
7:00 a.m. on Saturday. An officer
saw a vehicle leaving the vicinity,
and followed, but lost sight of
it. The vehicle was seen again
shortly afterward near Red Lake
by the same police officer.
After two attempts, the
officer succeeded in stopping
the vehicle. It had been driven
into a residential driveway. The
ALCOHOL to page 4
Accident kills Red Lake youth,
another medevaced to Fargo
By Bill Lawrence
According to Red Lake sources,
at approximately 9:30 p.m. on
August 29, a single car roll-over
accident in the village of Red Lake
resulted in the death of Michael
Desjarliat, 18 and the serious
injury of Sheldon Defoe, Jr., age
unknown. Michael was the son
of Donald "Rat" Desjarliat, a Red
Lake Tribal Council member.
Sheldon is the son of Sheldon
Defoe, Sr. and Evett Lussier. His
medical condition was unavailable
at press time. Driver of the vehicle
is unknown at this time. All of the
persons mentioned are residents
of the Red Lake Reservation.
RLTC hires 4 for courts and law
enforcement
By Bill Lawrence
The RLTC at its regular
meeting on August 14, hired
Irene Folstrom as chief
prosecutor, Donavan May as
court administrator, Jena Benson
as captain of police and Colin
Brunell as narcotics investigator.
No salary or employment start
dates were available.
According to information that
Press-ON received from several
source, Ms. Folstrom is a law
school graduate, not currently a
licensed attorney and has worked
as legal advisor to Leech Lake
RBC chairman George Goggleye.
She has no previous experience as
a prosecutor. She was a candidate
for the Minnesota State Senate
for District 4 in 2006. She is a
member of the Leech Lake Band
of Ojibwe.
Donavan May is A Red Lake
tribal member, although it is
reported that he grew-up in Turtle
Mountain where his mother is
a member. It is reported he has
experience working in tribal
courts. His father is a member at
Red Lake.
All that could be learned about
the backgrounds of Jena Benson
and Colin Brunell is that they
previously worked for current
Red Lake public safety director
Bill Brunell at White Earth.
A phone call to public safety
director Brunell to obtain more
information about the 2 new hires
wasn't returned by press time.
MCT Constitution Subversion - Fraudulent origin
of Tribal Courts
By Jeff Armstrong
[reprinted from 7/20/2001]
"If, as we have concluded,
the tribal members have not
decided to empower the tribal
governmentto decide who should
have custody of their children, it
is not in the interest of those
members for the Department
to acquiesce in the decision of
tribal officials to assert such
power. . . . The Department's
decision preserves for the tribal
membership the right to decide
whether it wishes to accord to
its government broad power
over their family relations." Tim
Vollman, Associate Solicitor,
Division of Indian Affairs. July
31,1986.
"Our position does not
question the inherent power
of the Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe to maintain justice and
promote the general welfare of
the Tribe nor does it challenge
the Tribe's constitution or
form of government. Rather, it
recognizes that the constitution
confers the power to exercise
criminal jurisdiction on the
Tribe but does not speak to the
power of the bands to exercise
those same powers." Ada Deer,
Assistant Secretary, Indian
Affairs. November 22,1993.
In at least seven opinions
dating back to 1980, the U.S.
Department of the Interior
determined that officials of
the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
(MCT) and its six constituent
reservations lacked authority
under the tribal constitution
to establish courts without
amending their governing
document. Because the MCT
Constitution does not delegate to
the Tribal Executive Committee
(TEC) or the Reservation
Business Committees (RBC)
the power to establish a court
system, the Department
reasoned that authority remains
with the people of the Tribe,
who can exercise it through
the constitutional amendment
process defined in Article XII.
As Mariana Shulstad put it for
the field solicitor's office in 1980:
"Where governmental action has
the potential to affect people's
lives in an intimate and drastic
way, as child custody jurisdiction
does, the [constitutional]
authority should be explicitly
stated."
All that changed in August of
1994, when in the midst of a wide-
ranging federal investigation of
the MCT which ultimately led
to the conviction of six tribal
officials, including four of the
12 Tribal Executive Committee
members, the Department
dramatically reserved itself.
In a terse, one and one-half
page opinion, then Associate
Solicitor Michael J. Anderson
wrote,"... I am persuaded that a
constitutional amendment is not
necessary. The Tribe can, and
should, proceed immediately
to establish a comprehensive
judicial system for the Tribe
and all its bands under the
existing constitution." In what
little legal analysis is utilized in
Anderson's opinion, he cites the
MCT to page 5
Rookie Chamberlain unique
beyond just his name
By David Leon Moore
USA TODAY
Nearly every day, something
new and exciting happens that
causes New York Yankees rookie
right-hander Joba Chamberlain,
one of baseball's most unlikely
success stories this year, to pinch
himself:
A locker full of new cleats.
A new glove with his name on
it.
A major league paycheck.
Stretching before games with
his idol, Roger Clemens.
Or, like the other day, bumping
into Detroit Tigers closer Todd
Jones at the Yankee Stadium
weight room. They began
shooting the breeze, one big
leaguer to another, even though
Jones has been in the majors for
15 years and Chamberlain, 21,
was finishing his second week
with the Yankees.
But what really got to
Chamberlain?
NAME to page 6
j|B^^.
y w*
• %.
By Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY
When Joba Chamberlain was
promoted to the Yankees earlier
this month, he joined Philadelphia's Kyle Lohse as the only
Native Americans in the majors.
But the 21 -year-old is also gaining notice for his dominant performances and talk that he may
be the power arm the Yankees
need in their bullpen to make a
run at the playoffs.
Tribe tries to
move past
disgraced
leader
By Ken Maguire
Associated Press
MASHPEE, Mass. - The
Mashpee Wampanoag's newest
chairman said Wednesday he
can shepherd his tribe on the
path to opening a $1 billion
casino, despite challenges
including a governor who
has yet to endorse expanded
gambling to efforts by some
tribe members to unseat him.
Shawn Hendricks was
elevated to the post when
then-chairman Glenn Marshall
acknowledged that he lied to
Congress about his military
record, and that he was
convicted of rape in 1981 _
serving three months of a five-
year sentence.
The revelations came at
a critical time for the tribe,
whose plans for a resort casino
TRIBE to page 6
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
web page: www.press-on.net
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication. Copyright, Native American Press, 2007
Founded in 1988
Volume 19 Issue 36
September 1, 2007
Buddie Green case to be reviewed by
Minnesota Supreme Court
By Order dated August 21, 2007, the Minnesota Supreme Court granted certiorari, or agreed to
review the Buddie Green case, case #AO6-804. Buddie a young Indian mother who over two years
ago needed to apply for benefits for she and her child were required to use Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe (MCT) employment services and was denied the right to use Aitkin County employment
services. Buddie Green does not live within the boundaries of any reservation.however, due to
a financial services contract with the State of Minnesota, the State and County require any MCT
member who resides in certain counties to use the MCT services only, and financially sanction
your MFIP benefits if you do not comply. Buddie Green challenged the States's law and Aitkin
County's discriminatory practices against MCT members only.especially while Indians of all of
the other 561 federally recognized tribes are not mandated under the same law. The Green
case which is now into its fifth level of appeal, having won in the administrative review level, lost
at the commissioner's, the district and court of appeals levels and well past its second year of
existence. Just think, this is all because Buddie dqesnt want to be a government indian. Read
press release on page 5.
Heffelfinger says he has mixed emotions on
Gonzales resignation
By Frederic J. Frommer
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Former
U.S. Attorney for Minnesota
Tom Heffelfinger, who wound
up on a list of U.S. attorneys
considered for dismissal, said
Monday he had mixed emotions
about Attorney General Alberto
Gonzales' resignation.
"The big question is which will
be harder on the Department of
Justice," Heffelfinger said in a
telephone interview. "Staying
with an attorney general who
is under constant fire, vs. not
having an embattled attorney
general, but now having to go
through a confirmation fight
and a search."
Gonzales announced his
resignation on Monday, ending
a long battle with members of
Congress over his honesty and
competence. Both Minnesota
senators, Republican Norm
Coleman and Democrat Amy
Klobuchar, had called on
the attorney general to step
down, and both welcomed his
resignation.
"Attorney General Gonzales
had lost the credibility
needed to effectively run the
Justice Department, and his
resignation today will allow
the country to move forward,"
Coleman said in a prepared
statement. "Moreover, it will
allow Congress to spend time
working on the major issues
before our country, rather than
spending time on congressional
hearings regarding the attorney
general."
Klobuchar said that Gonzales
did the right thing by resigning,
but added that he leaves "a
legacy of justice tarnished."
"In the Justice Department
of Alberto Gonzales,
the professionalism and
independence of the U.S.
attorneys was undermined by
rank partisan politics," she
said in a prepared statement.
"Unbelievably, even Minnesota's
own highly-respected U.S.
Attorney Tom Heffelfinger
somehow got put on a 'hit
list' for removal. This was an
outrage."
Heffelfinger said he thinks
it will be difficult to find a
replacement. Until one is found,
Solicitor General Paul Clement
will be acting attorney general.
In May, the department's
former White House liaison,
Monica Goodling, testified that
the department had concerns
that Heffelfinger was spending
too much time on American
Indian issues, particularly as
head of a Native American
subcommittee.
Heffelfinger has called that
rationale "shameful," but in the
interview he said those Justice
Department concerns were
likely from subordinates rather
than Gonzales himself.
"I had dealings with him for
about a year on Native American
issues," Heffelfinger said. "He
seemed to be sensitive to those
issues. I don't know that people
underneath him were."
GONZALES to page 5
Standing Rock Sioux board
rescinds nickname support
By The Associated Press
GRAND FORKS - The
chairman of the Standing Rock
Sioux Reservation's Veterans'
Group board says the group voted
3-2 to rescind its support for the
University of North Dakota's
Fighting Sioux nickname and
logo after getting calls from
tribal members.
Board members had voted
unanimously to support the
nickname Monday, then they
were inundated with calls from
Standing Rock veterans and other
tribal members opposed to the
nickname, said Ed Black Cloud,
the board's.acting chairman.
The tribal board likely will
take the matter up again after a
scheduled tour of UND's campus
and meetings with UND and
Ralph Engelstad Arena officials
in September, Black Cloud said.
"We still want to hear what
they have to say, and we'll decide
what we decide," Black Cloud
said. "There are a lot of different
things we have to talk about."
The board's initial vote
supporting the nickname came
during a visit by Sam Dupris,
an enrolled member of the
Cheyenne River (S.D.) Sioux
Tribe.and a decorated Korean
War veteran who is touring
North Dakota's Sioux tribes as an
envoy for the Engelstad arena.
Dupris described for board
members a memorial wall being
planned at the arena to honor
Sioux veterans.
Arena general manager Jody
Hodgson has called Dupris'
reservation visits a "diplomatic
course" to repair strained
relations between the arena
and tribal officials stemming
from UND's lawsuit against the
NCAA The arena has thousands
of Sioux logos.
UND is suing the NCAA over
a 2005 policy barring schools
with American Indian logos and
SUPPORT to page 6
Lawyer Expose
Rip-off of Indian
Assets Faces
Firing Threat
Government Cites Secrets Act
to Punish Whistleblower for
Talking to Reporter
Washington, DC—An Interior
Department attorney who
revealed his agency's extensive
ongoing mismanagement
of Indian properties faces
termination from his job for
disclosing these problems to a
newspaper reporter, according
to documents released today
by Public Employees for
Environmental Responsibility
(PEER). The government is
invoking the Trade Secrets Act,
an obscure criminal statute, as
the main basis for proceeding
against the Interior attorney.
Robert McCarthy, a Field
Solicitor, is the chief legal
officer in Southern California
THREAT to page 6

INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Two Plead Guilty $1.6
Million Riverside
Casino Heist
page 3
Navajo Artist Creates
Skateboards featuring
Female Warrior Images
page 7
Half Price Books
4th Annual Wild
Rice Festival
page 6
Concerns to Proposed
Values Governing Tribal
Members' Cross-Border
Travel under WHTI
page 4
Sentenced by the
Welfare System -
Awan's Story, A Must
Read
page 4
Leech Lake's former Assistant Police Chief Alvin
John Wind sentencing postponed
By Diane White
WALKER, MN- The sentencing
hearing set for today for the
former Leech Lake Tribal Police's
Assistant Police Chief, Alvin John
Wind was postponed to September
10, 2007. Postponements in
this case have not been an
unusual occurrence. Wind
will be sentenced on Monday,
September 10 at 9:00 a.m. in
front of Judge John Smith.
Wind was orignally sentenced
in June 2006 by Judge John
Roue of Crookston. He is now
retired and Judge John Smith is
presiding in this matter.
Based upon the recommendation
to the court from Minnesota
Department of Corrections,
Probation Officer Mary
Hoaglund, Wind is facing up
to one year in the County jail
with all, but 60 days stayed; a
$1,000 fine with all but $300
stayed; pay a $700 polygraph
fee; must successfully complete
sexual offender programming,
including aftercare and
polygraph testing; have no use of
alcohol or controlled substances;
must submit to random testing;
be subject to random searches
of person, home and vehicles;
have no use of sexually explicit
material; no use of internet
without agent approval; have no
contact with victim(s) or victim's
family without agent approval;
register as a sexual offender;
submit to DNA testing; and
follow Department of Correction
directives.
Wind defied the Department
of Corrections and the original
sentencing of June 2006 by
not reporting an incident to
his Probation Officer where
he was observed by local law
enforcement to be intoxicated
at a party where a stabbing took
place and from being intoxicated
at the party, both are direct
violations of his probation.
Hoaglund cites Wind continues
to make poor choices in his life
and these poor choices prevent
him from following the original
sentencing agreement.
Wind faces the loss of
professional police licensure,
thus losing the ability to practice
law enforcement in Minnesota.
In a recent Minnesota Court
of Appeals ruling, Indians who
reside on the reservation can
be committed to treatment
by Minnesota courts. The
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
has authority over sex offender
registration in this matter.
Redby man
killed by Red
Lake police
officer
According to the FBI, a 19-year
old Redby man was shot and
killed Saturday, August 18, by
a Red Lake police officer. Early
reports withheld the identity of
both individuals. The shooting
victim was identified later as
Anthony W Hegstrom.
The Red Lake Department of
Public Safety placed the police
officer (William White) on
administrative leave pending
investigation.
An autopsy and forensic
reports are being prepared.
Paul McCabe, spokesman for
the FBI, reported the Red Lake
Police Department was notified
by several callers that gun shots
were being fired in Redby around
7:00 a.m. on Saturday. An officer
saw a vehicle leaving the vicinity,
and followed, but lost sight of
it. The vehicle was seen again
shortly afterward near Red Lake
by the same police officer.
After two attempts, the
officer succeeded in stopping
the vehicle. It had been driven
into a residential driveway. The
ALCOHOL to page 4
Accident kills Red Lake youth,
another medevaced to Fargo
By Bill Lawrence
According to Red Lake sources,
at approximately 9:30 p.m. on
August 29, a single car roll-over
accident in the village of Red Lake
resulted in the death of Michael
Desjarliat, 18 and the serious
injury of Sheldon Defoe, Jr., age
unknown. Michael was the son
of Donald "Rat" Desjarliat, a Red
Lake Tribal Council member.
Sheldon is the son of Sheldon
Defoe, Sr. and Evett Lussier. His
medical condition was unavailable
at press time. Driver of the vehicle
is unknown at this time. All of the
persons mentioned are residents
of the Red Lake Reservation.
RLTC hires 4 for courts and law
enforcement
By Bill Lawrence
The RLTC at its regular
meeting on August 14, hired
Irene Folstrom as chief
prosecutor, Donavan May as
court administrator, Jena Benson
as captain of police and Colin
Brunell as narcotics investigator.
No salary or employment start
dates were available.
According to information that
Press-ON received from several
source, Ms. Folstrom is a law
school graduate, not currently a
licensed attorney and has worked
as legal advisor to Leech Lake
RBC chairman George Goggleye.
She has no previous experience as
a prosecutor. She was a candidate
for the Minnesota State Senate
for District 4 in 2006. She is a
member of the Leech Lake Band
of Ojibwe.
Donavan May is A Red Lake
tribal member, although it is
reported that he grew-up in Turtle
Mountain where his mother is
a member. It is reported he has
experience working in tribal
courts. His father is a member at
Red Lake.
All that could be learned about
the backgrounds of Jena Benson
and Colin Brunell is that they
previously worked for current
Red Lake public safety director
Bill Brunell at White Earth.
A phone call to public safety
director Brunell to obtain more
information about the 2 new hires
wasn't returned by press time.
MCT Constitution Subversion - Fraudulent origin
of Tribal Courts
By Jeff Armstrong
[reprinted from 7/20/2001]
"If, as we have concluded,
the tribal members have not
decided to empower the tribal
governmentto decide who should
have custody of their children, it
is not in the interest of those
members for the Department
to acquiesce in the decision of
tribal officials to assert such
power. . . . The Department's
decision preserves for the tribal
membership the right to decide
whether it wishes to accord to
its government broad power
over their family relations." Tim
Vollman, Associate Solicitor,
Division of Indian Affairs. July
31,1986.
"Our position does not
question the inherent power
of the Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe to maintain justice and
promote the general welfare of
the Tribe nor does it challenge
the Tribe's constitution or
form of government. Rather, it
recognizes that the constitution
confers the power to exercise
criminal jurisdiction on the
Tribe but does not speak to the
power of the bands to exercise
those same powers." Ada Deer,
Assistant Secretary, Indian
Affairs. November 22,1993.
In at least seven opinions
dating back to 1980, the U.S.
Department of the Interior
determined that officials of
the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
(MCT) and its six constituent
reservations lacked authority
under the tribal constitution
to establish courts without
amending their governing
document. Because the MCT
Constitution does not delegate to
the Tribal Executive Committee
(TEC) or the Reservation
Business Committees (RBC)
the power to establish a court
system, the Department
reasoned that authority remains
with the people of the Tribe,
who can exercise it through
the constitutional amendment
process defined in Article XII.
As Mariana Shulstad put it for
the field solicitor's office in 1980:
"Where governmental action has
the potential to affect people's
lives in an intimate and drastic
way, as child custody jurisdiction
does, the [constitutional]
authority should be explicitly
stated."
All that changed in August of
1994, when in the midst of a wide-
ranging federal investigation of
the MCT which ultimately led
to the conviction of six tribal
officials, including four of the
12 Tribal Executive Committee
members, the Department
dramatically reserved itself.
In a terse, one and one-half
page opinion, then Associate
Solicitor Michael J. Anderson
wrote,"... I am persuaded that a
constitutional amendment is not
necessary. The Tribe can, and
should, proceed immediately
to establish a comprehensive
judicial system for the Tribe
and all its bands under the
existing constitution." In what
little legal analysis is utilized in
Anderson's opinion, he cites the
MCT to page 5
Rookie Chamberlain unique
beyond just his name
By David Leon Moore
USA TODAY
Nearly every day, something
new and exciting happens that
causes New York Yankees rookie
right-hander Joba Chamberlain,
one of baseball's most unlikely
success stories this year, to pinch
himself:
A locker full of new cleats.
A new glove with his name on
it.
A major league paycheck.
Stretching before games with
his idol, Roger Clemens.
Or, like the other day, bumping
into Detroit Tigers closer Todd
Jones at the Yankee Stadium
weight room. They began
shooting the breeze, one big
leaguer to another, even though
Jones has been in the majors for
15 years and Chamberlain, 21,
was finishing his second week
with the Yankees.
But what really got to
Chamberlain?
NAME to page 6
j|B^^.
y w*
• %.
By Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY
When Joba Chamberlain was
promoted to the Yankees earlier
this month, he joined Philadelphia's Kyle Lohse as the only
Native Americans in the majors.
But the 21 -year-old is also gaining notice for his dominant performances and talk that he may
be the power arm the Yankees
need in their bullpen to make a
run at the playoffs.
Tribe tries to
move past
disgraced
leader
By Ken Maguire
Associated Press
MASHPEE, Mass. - The
Mashpee Wampanoag's newest
chairman said Wednesday he
can shepherd his tribe on the
path to opening a $1 billion
casino, despite challenges
including a governor who
has yet to endorse expanded
gambling to efforts by some
tribe members to unseat him.
Shawn Hendricks was
elevated to the post when
then-chairman Glenn Marshall
acknowledged that he lied to
Congress about his military
record, and that he was
convicted of rape in 1981 _
serving three months of a five-
year sentence.
The revelations came at
a critical time for the tribe,
whose plans for a resort casino
TRIBE to page 6
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
web page: www.press-on.net
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication. Copyright, Native American Press, 2007
Founded in 1988
Volume 19 Issue 36
September 1, 2007
Buddie Green case to be reviewed by
Minnesota Supreme Court
By Order dated August 21, 2007, the Minnesota Supreme Court granted certiorari, or agreed to
review the Buddie Green case, case #AO6-804. Buddie a young Indian mother who over two years
ago needed to apply for benefits for she and her child were required to use Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe (MCT) employment services and was denied the right to use Aitkin County employment
services. Buddie Green does not live within the boundaries of any reservation.however, due to
a financial services contract with the State of Minnesota, the State and County require any MCT
member who resides in certain counties to use the MCT services only, and financially sanction
your MFIP benefits if you do not comply. Buddie Green challenged the States's law and Aitkin
County's discriminatory practices against MCT members only.especially while Indians of all of
the other 561 federally recognized tribes are not mandated under the same law. The Green
case which is now into its fifth level of appeal, having won in the administrative review level, lost
at the commissioner's, the district and court of appeals levels and well past its second year of
existence. Just think, this is all because Buddie dqesnt want to be a government indian. Read
press release on page 5.
Heffelfinger says he has mixed emotions on
Gonzales resignation
By Frederic J. Frommer
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Former
U.S. Attorney for Minnesota
Tom Heffelfinger, who wound
up on a list of U.S. attorneys
considered for dismissal, said
Monday he had mixed emotions
about Attorney General Alberto
Gonzales' resignation.
"The big question is which will
be harder on the Department of
Justice," Heffelfinger said in a
telephone interview. "Staying
with an attorney general who
is under constant fire, vs. not
having an embattled attorney
general, but now having to go
through a confirmation fight
and a search."
Gonzales announced his
resignation on Monday, ending
a long battle with members of
Congress over his honesty and
competence. Both Minnesota
senators, Republican Norm
Coleman and Democrat Amy
Klobuchar, had called on
the attorney general to step
down, and both welcomed his
resignation.
"Attorney General Gonzales
had lost the credibility
needed to effectively run the
Justice Department, and his
resignation today will allow
the country to move forward,"
Coleman said in a prepared
statement. "Moreover, it will
allow Congress to spend time
working on the major issues
before our country, rather than
spending time on congressional
hearings regarding the attorney
general."
Klobuchar said that Gonzales
did the right thing by resigning,
but added that he leaves "a
legacy of justice tarnished."
"In the Justice Department
of Alberto Gonzales,
the professionalism and
independence of the U.S.
attorneys was undermined by
rank partisan politics," she
said in a prepared statement.
"Unbelievably, even Minnesota's
own highly-respected U.S.
Attorney Tom Heffelfinger
somehow got put on a 'hit
list' for removal. This was an
outrage."
Heffelfinger said he thinks
it will be difficult to find a
replacement. Until one is found,
Solicitor General Paul Clement
will be acting attorney general.
In May, the department's
former White House liaison,
Monica Goodling, testified that
the department had concerns
that Heffelfinger was spending
too much time on American
Indian issues, particularly as
head of a Native American
subcommittee.
Heffelfinger has called that
rationale "shameful," but in the
interview he said those Justice
Department concerns were
likely from subordinates rather
than Gonzales himself.
"I had dealings with him for
about a year on Native American
issues," Heffelfinger said. "He
seemed to be sensitive to those
issues. I don't know that people
underneath him were."
GONZALES to page 5
Standing Rock Sioux board
rescinds nickname support
By The Associated Press
GRAND FORKS - The
chairman of the Standing Rock
Sioux Reservation's Veterans'
Group board says the group voted
3-2 to rescind its support for the
University of North Dakota's
Fighting Sioux nickname and
logo after getting calls from
tribal members.
Board members had voted
unanimously to support the
nickname Monday, then they
were inundated with calls from
Standing Rock veterans and other
tribal members opposed to the
nickname, said Ed Black Cloud,
the board's.acting chairman.
The tribal board likely will
take the matter up again after a
scheduled tour of UND's campus
and meetings with UND and
Ralph Engelstad Arena officials
in September, Black Cloud said.
"We still want to hear what
they have to say, and we'll decide
what we decide," Black Cloud
said. "There are a lot of different
things we have to talk about."
The board's initial vote
supporting the nickname came
during a visit by Sam Dupris,
an enrolled member of the
Cheyenne River (S.D.) Sioux
Tribe.and a decorated Korean
War veteran who is touring
North Dakota's Sioux tribes as an
envoy for the Engelstad arena.
Dupris described for board
members a memorial wall being
planned at the arena to honor
Sioux veterans.
Arena general manager Jody
Hodgson has called Dupris'
reservation visits a "diplomatic
course" to repair strained
relations between the arena
and tribal officials stemming
from UND's lawsuit against the
NCAA The arena has thousands
of Sioux logos.
UND is suing the NCAA over
a 2005 policy barring schools
with American Indian logos and
SUPPORT to page 6
Lawyer Expose
Rip-off of Indian
Assets Faces
Firing Threat
Government Cites Secrets Act
to Punish Whistleblower for
Talking to Reporter
Washington, DC—An Interior
Department attorney who
revealed his agency's extensive
ongoing mismanagement
of Indian properties faces
termination from his job for
disclosing these problems to a
newspaper reporter, according
to documents released today
by Public Employees for
Environmental Responsibility
(PEER). The government is
invoking the Trade Secrets Act,
an obscure criminal statute, as
the main basis for proceeding
against the Interior attorney.
Robert McCarthy, a Field
Solicitor, is the chief legal
officer in Southern California
THREAT to page 6